


Pack Of Mavericks

by Soikia



Series: Athanasia [3]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 16:33:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soikia/pseuds/Soikia
Summary: If pressed, Junhee would say that he's come to enjoy being a vampire. After he stops panicking about the whole 'living for centuries' bit, of course. The prospect of it all weird him out if he lets his mind wander for a bit too long. But it's not so bad, living like this. Coming to terms with it is easier than fighting against it.He's got his coven with him - and that makes things a little easier. They're the loves of his life. Of course there are still some things he has to work out, but he thinks they're content.Well. He hopes they're content. Because if they aren't, he's going to feel like a failure.





	Pack Of Mavericks

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween! Or to those who don't celebrate Halloween, I hope you're having a good day!
> 
> Updates:  
> \- Heartbeats is on a break for a few extra weeks. I'm just not happy with how the chapter turned out so I'm going to rest for a bit before going back and re-editing it. That said, the chapter is more or less done (and the end is coming sooner rather than later after working a few things out).  
> \- I'm going to try and have a somewhat normal update schedule for this, I can't say it'll be monthly, but I'm going to try and always try to update within a two month time span.  
> \- I now have a [Twitter](https://twitter.com/etherealjunhee)! It's brand new so I'm still getting used to being on it, but in the future I plan to post updates and various other au goodies on it.  
> \- This fic has been in the making since last Halloween. One prominent rewrite, weeks upon weeks of editing and research has consumed my life for this piece.  
> \- (Some) Songs I listened to a lot while building P.O.M: ["Black Sea"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8DFh-JmiS0), ["Supernatural Border"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDVDFMSOnGE), ["One"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sO2UMoOaFQ) and ["The Untainted White Line"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHASol-jzB8)
> 
> Enjoy reading, everyone!

v a m p i r e;

[ n o u n ]

A preternatural (abnormal) being, believed to be a reanimated corpse who seeks to feed off of the unexpecting.

**Rimrock, California. 2018.**

Lungs burning as he gasps for breath, hands gripping carpet tight enough to tug out the weaker strands. 

His head aches and when he opens his eyes his vision is swimming. Alive. He’s alive. For a moment, relief.

The next, pain. It’s enough to make him writhe, wanting nothing more than to phase out of existence. At some point he’s forcing himself up onto shaky legs, gagging because he feels like there’s something perpetually stuck in the back of his throat while his stomach churns uncomfortably.

Legs wobbly and shooting daggers up to his torso, he manages to take a few steps before collapsing back down and trembling. 

Everything hurts. Everything is a mix of too much and too little, fingers feeling numb while his ears pick up voices upstairs and his throat feels dry and clogged and -

Everything hurts and all he can do is let out a sharp cry -

And it startles himself awake. The carpet melts into him clutching at bed sheets, the burning of his lungs fades into nothing. When he opens his eyes, his vision still swims. So he closes them again and sucks in breaths that he doesn’t necessarily need.

Going from complete, dark sleep to the groggy feeling of waking up is a process. It’s the low buzz of energy that pulls oneself away from the abyss. For vampires it’s much like resurfacing after being underwater for too long, like filling lungs with cold air after being in a sweltering room. A shock to the nerves.

He has always dreamed vividly. Probably always will.

The dream has left him a little panicky, shakily sitting upright. He feels dizzy even without opening his eyes - as if the room is tilting without him seeing it. Junhee tilts himself forward just enough to cradle his head in a pair of shaky hands, tugging at strands of hair as his ears ring. 

Then one hand drifts down to his chest, stilling as he waits.

Nothing.

Okay - just a dream.

Just a dream that he repeats to himself as he drags his hand back up to twist a few locks of hair.

Junhee lets out a stuttered breath, rubbing the palms of his hands into his eyes and noting that they come away wet. He doesn’t want to think about that right now so instead he fully commits to looking around the room. Nothing is different, save for the blankets on the bed being crumpled. He runs a hand over the comforter, frowning at the lack of a bedmate. Which is very strange, considering that he had one when he settled down for bed at seven in the morning. 

The air has that weird air conditioner smell - the one that happens when the air conditioning kicks on after not being used for a while. It’s gross, in all honesty. But Rimrock as a whole leaves much to be improved on. 

Shaking off the clinging feelings of sleep, he kicks the sheets off and swings his legs off the side of the bed. 

He rubs his arms, toes wiggling in the carpet before pushing himself up. There are a few clothes scattered along the floor - some from bedtime and others that have to be recent. If he wasn’t out of it, he’d pick it up.

Instead he just plucks a coat up along the way, moving to tug it on. His robe is what he's really wanting to wear, but he's not sure where it is. Last he recalls, Sehyoon had it. So it’s not even with them, probably.

Sad, he could use it now. He sighs, exiting the bedroom as he enters into the minuscule hallway. And then he’s coasting into the low light of the living room, squinting at the immaculate set up.

Rubbing the remaining wetness from his eyes, he feels more tired than he should as he shuffles to and from. Everything is just like they left it.

Except for a small, tidy note on the end table by the couch. His mouth twists, closing the distance to peer down at it.

**Sugar,**  
**Went on the roof to take in the view. Hope I didn’t wake you.**  
**~ Donghun.**

Donghun’s scrawl is messy in the low light. He puffs out his cheeks, staring at the door and thinking.

Well, maybe Donghun would like some company. The thought of being alone feels rather gutting at the moment. He hums and glances at the time, reads the digital display on the televisions DVD player and takes in the blinking ‘10:38’. Well. It’s not that late.

Stills looks suspicious if he were to go out. But if he’s just meeting up with his boyfriend...well...who’s going to question a romantic rendezvous under the stars?

He hunts down his flip flops and chuckles at the novelty of it. A vampire wearing flip flops is arguably not how most humans would picture them. But even they can be lazy about tying shoes too.

He grabs his keycard as he heads out, double checking to make sure that the door locks behind him. He’s not going to risk coming back to see someone bumming on the couch.

And then he’s shuffling along the corridor, frowning at the water damaged ceiling and stained carpets and counting his blessings that he doesn’t have to breathe anymore. The paint of the walls is new, mixed with the cleaning solutions to try and make the carpets look nice - it’s all just a migraine waiting to happen.

They’re on the top floor - probably why Donghun chose to go to the roof rather than anywhere else in Rimrock. Six stories up and away from the crowds.

A door with a peeling and faded ‘stairs’ looms in front of him, somehow imposing with the barely illuminated exit sign. He pushes the door open when he gets there, cringing at the creaking and slamming as it closes. Too loud. Far too loud.

There’s only stairs going down except for a dingy little door that probably once read ‘employees only’. There’s probably supposed to be a key that goes to it, but all he has to do is jiggle the doorknob to have the lock give way.

The hotel should probably invest in fixing that.

The employee staircase is claustrophobic in the best sense of the word. He scrunches his face and instead giggles at the slapping of his flip flops echoing out along the walls. It’s so dumb.

It’s so great.

The door that opens to the roof is heavy, meant to keep people away. Yet he sees a crack in it, propped open by a cinder block that he wonders about. Where did it come from? Who brought it up here?

He’s careful to make sure that the door stays propped open, blinking a few times to adjust to the outdoor lighting. Clouds are rolling in, roof slick with standing water from an earlier rain cycle. Among the conditioning units, all metallic and plastic and easily considered eyesores, stands his boyfriend near the edge of the building, back to him.

It’s fit for a romance novel cover, or perhaps a novel about someone who’s just about to be murdered. Either one is considerably fitting. Donghun makes no move to insinuate that he even heard Junhee come up.

All he can do is roll his eyes, avoiding puddles and focusing on not busting his ass as he makes his way over to stand by his boyfriend, nudging his shoulder lightly.

“Sugar.” Donghun hums quietly in lieu of a greeting, lips quirking into a smile as he turns just enough to face him. “You look like you just rolled out of bed.”

“Sugar? Are you trapped in the early twenties again?” He huffs out, exaggerating a grimace. “But yes, I did just roll out of bed because I had no clue where you were. You could’ve texted me instead of writing a note.”

“Sugar is cute. Byeongkwan likes it when I call him sugar.” The older replies petulantly. “And texting is dumb.”

“I can check a text message faster than I can hunt down a note.”

“It makes you use critical thinking.”

There’s no use in even trying to argue against that. So instead he sighs, looking up at the clouds.

“So why are you up here?”

“You were hogging the bed.” Donghun snorts quietly. “Then I realized that we get to see the other’s today and was too excited to go back to sleep.”

“So you’re up here because..”

“I wanted to see the sky before it got too cloudy again.” Donghun shrugs. “But I also like to imagine that any plane I see could have them, but I doubt it based on how long the flight here is.”

Junhee just snorts affectionately. Donghun scrunches his face at the noise, going back to searching the sky.

“Yuchan must be miserable.” He continues. “Flying through such conditions.”

“All three of them must be miserable, then.” Junhee murmurs. “Are we going to pick them up?”

A small nod is all he gets as a reply. So instead of furthering the conversation, he gently rests his head against his shoulder. They can stand comfortably, watch the clouds roll in. Donghun does seem to be genuinely be on the lookout for planes, excitement spiking whenever the lights of an aircraft break through the dark. Junhee just chuckles quietly, still sleep soft in thoughts and attentiveness. 

Donghun feels very fond today. It’s almost strong enough to lull him to sleep. If it weren’t for the fact that they were standing, he might’ve.

At first he doesn’t really register the feeling of Donghun sliding his hand against his. Then the soft grab, the intertwining fingers. When he casts a quick glance, he’s reminded about how comfortably his hand fits into Donghun’s.

He smiles, swinging their arms lightly. Donghun scoffs, all soft and warm and content.

Donghun has always craved this, he thinks. This sort of gentle intimacy. He heard stories about how closed off he’d been in terms of relationships before he and Sehyoon really took anything seriously. There were a lot of personal issues they both had to work out. But seeing how the older is now comfortable enough to bear hug all of them at random times, he thinks that he's come a long way.

“You’re thoughtful.” Donghun murmurs, snapping him out of his thoughts. “I’ll never understand how you and Sehyoon can slip into the deeper parts of your minds so quickly.”

“It’s a curse.”

“Mm.”

More silence, a tighter grip of their hands. And soon - lightning in the distance. The sound of thunder.

“A storm.” Donghun says, as if he did not know what weather was. “Driving through it won’t be fun.”

“Imagine the turbulence the other three are dealing with.” He chips in. “You can drive.”

“Why me?”

“I’m better as a trusty right hand man than the person behind the wheel.” He says smartly. “Plus you look good when you drive.”

He can almost sense the dramatic eye roll the other must be doing. All he can do is smile and lift his head off his shoulder. Donghun looks at him again, more direct than the last time.

“Have you been crying?” He asks quietly. It throws Junhee for a loop, causing him to arch a brow and look at him quizzically. “It looks like there’s a little red smeared under your eyes.” Donghun elaborated, moving to tilt his head up with his free hand, grip light on his chin.

Huh. Junhee could've sworn that he'd wiped all the smudges off.

He can’t necessarily look at his face right now - doesn’t have a proper reflective surface on hand to look. Instead he gently pulls his head away, moving to look at his hands.

There’s a few smudges on the heel of his hand, barely noticeable but still there all the same. For some reason, that sours his mood considerably. 

“I suppose I was.” He says, deciding to act unaware.

“Bad dream again?”

Well - no. He doesn’t want to necessarily say it was bad. It wasn’t good either but _still_. Donghun still has a solid gaze on him as he clears his throat.

“Can’t remember.” Is the answer he opts for. “Maybe my eyes got teary because I was rubbing them really hard when I woke up.”

“Idiot.” Donghun huffs, but there is a sense of relief. “What if someone had saw you?”

“Perhaps I could pull it off as some sort of makeup trend?”

A snort. Then, after a moment, a small chuckle.

“Perhaps you could - if there’s anyone out of all of us that could pull it off, it’d be you.” Donghun ascents, casting one last glance up to the sky. “Let’s head in and get ready to drive out to the airport. I’d like to be there early.”

“Oh?”

“The first flight was eleven hours.” The older supplies. “The second is the one with a small plane. I think..I think they’re landing in Chicago before arriving here? Either way, I don’t want them to have to loiter around an airport longer than needed.”

Mm. Probably.

He doesn’t know shit about planes. Byeongkwan and Yuchan were the ones that helped him and Donghun get their tickets.

Despite saying that they should head in, Donghun is still tediously wiping his face clean with the dark sleeves of his shirt. He's holding his chin much like one might hold a child's face when they’ve smeared their face with food. Ever doting, Donghun carefully swipes a thumb along his cheeks and under his eyes.

There’s love in the action, something Donghun has gotten good at displaying. The other is bad at words, spends too long formulating sentences. So sure, he’s a bit rough when he scrubs at Junhee’s cheeks, but Junhee’s pretty sure that there’s a whole essay stuck in the back of Donghun’s throat. This is the only way that he can express himself at the moment. 

“Honestly. You’re sixty eight.” The older huffs affectionately. “You should know better.”

“Donghun.”

It’s one word. Just his name. But it’s enough for Donghun to still, looking directly in his eyes. Then he’s frowning, swiping each cheek one last time.

“That last comment wasn’t necessary. I apologize.” Donghun murmurs. “You seem to be having a rough morning.”

“It’s not that rough.” He offers quietly.

“Still. You don’t need me scolding you about what you should or shouldn’t know.” Donghun says, leaning forward to press a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s go get into some more public friendly clothes, okay? Maybe eat?”

“Not hungry.”

“If you don’t think you can handle going out today, I’m sure they’d understand.”

“I want to be there - need to.”

Donghun hums, nodding before turning him around and marching him towards the staircase. Junhee just lets himself be led.

He lets himself space out as they make their way back to the hotel. It’s not until they’re in the living area that he blinks back into reality. Donghun is moving into the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. He can see it over the kitchen island - two liter bottles filled with blood. Donghun is pulling one of them out and setting it on the counter.

“Last chance. Hungry?”

“Not..really.” Junhee replies, sitting down at the dining table. “I’m not in the mood.”

“You get cranky if you don’t feed.” Donghun says, voice lilted. “Are you sure?”

“I fed last night, I’m fine.” He says, rougher this time. He’s kind of wishing he could just go back to bed. He feels too hyper aware of his fangs right now, can feel them slot awkwardly against each other. 

It’s less annoying than the fact that he can feel Donghun glaring daggers at him. Junhee just sulks into his chair even more. 

When he has bad starts to the night, his mood fluctuates. It’s kind of like his mind doesn’t know what it wants him to feel, so it oscillates between every possible mood before leaving him even more exhausted and weirdly empty.

And he can feel it coming. And he assumes that Donghun can get a hint at it based off of how he doesn’t inquire as much as he usually would when Junhee skips a meal. Instead Donghun just sits down in the seat next to him, rubbing his back briefly before laying his hand and lower arm on the table.

Junhee also hasn’t decided if he’s in the mood to be touched that much today. His skin feels like there’s a minuscule bed of needles under it. Donghun sips from his mug casually. 

“Do you want to go get dressed?” He asks after a while, stirring Junhee from his thoughts. “That way we can head out sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah.” He sighs, leaning back. “Yeah I’ll go throw something on.”

Then he’s pushing his chair back to go to their room and dig through his suitcase. He’s decided that he’s just going to let himself be in a bad mood today. A lukewarm cranky.

Not feeding probably won’t help that but - he’s not having it today. 

So he tugs a fresh pair of clothes on, convinced it’s out of _spite_ even though he knows it isn’t. It never is. 

But he doesn’t brush through his hair. That’s where he draws the line.

Of course his whole ‘I’m going to be stubborn’ charade falls on deaf ears when it comes to Donghun. He’ll recognize the mood but never feed into it - settling to instead spare a dramatic glance at Junhee. 

Junhee supposes that part of dealing with him is stemmed from Donghun’s upbringing. He was apparently one of the oldest of the new generation in his coven, which means he probably saw a fair deal of angst. So dating him was probably a rinse and repeat cycle on how to deal with moods. A fair share of compassion, a heavy hand of reasoning and a general ‘don’t even think of testing me’.

Donghun just jingles his keys while Junhee tugs on a pair of boots that he’s pretty sure belongs to..who even bought these?

Byeongkwan, probably.

He spares a look at Donghun as he gets up. The older just smiles, lips tight as he opens the door.

Junhee walks ahead without acknowledging him. Makes it all the way to the parking lot without glancing behind him. Donghun seems to sort of get the mindset right now, silently unlocking the door with a click of the remote. He can’t help but feel a bit bad, so he turns around just enough to nod at Donghun in thanks.

Then he’s opening the passenger side door and slides into the seat. He fusses for a few minutes, determined to feel comfortable before buckling up. Donghun all the while is getting behind the steering wheel, tapping his fingers as he starts the car.

Donghun pulls out of the parking lot, radio on a low level as the windshield wipers swipe back and forth.

“It’s a fifty minute drive.” Donghun comments idly, catching his attention from where he had been fiddling with his thumbs. “If you want to sleep you can.”

He shakes his head at that, staring ahead at the windshield. Rain patters onto it in a rough drizzle, picking up from the sprinkle it had been earlier. The truth is that he doesn’t want to sleep - he’d rather see what the humans do at this time of night. Plus he knows that if he falls asleep, Donghun will leave him in the car while he goes and gets the others.

And he refuses to miss out on seeing them at the same time as Donghun.

So instead he settles his head against the window, peering out of it.

They’re barely leaving Rimrock when the radio frequency fizzles out from whatever pop song was playing. After being here for four days, he already has a feeling of what it is.

First it’s the sound of dial up going way too slow for any ounce of comfort. Then it’s a radio hosts voice, reading off a mantra that has become increasingly familiar. Hunters. It’s a reminder of where they are. Rimrock was a scary place - a pale and terrifying culture shock to the high vampire count in Angelus Oaks. But Rimrock? Rimrock has repeatedly shown that while they don’t give two shits if someone is a vampire - they also won’t do anything if one is crying for help. 

The message repeats itself once, twice. A third dialogue that lets the casual citizens of Rimrock to lock their doors tight because their hunter units will be going out. A reminder to vampires that they, above all, are only looking for the bad ones.

Well - what quantifies them as bad in a hunter's eyes?

He can think of the obvious reasons. But then he thinks back to the vampires in Italy that were killed for walking down the street, or the one that was kissing their human girlfriend on her porch steps.

It is all very...morally grey when it isn’t obvious.

As the message fizzles out and the music starts to play again, he can’t help but look out the window again and sigh. He can feel the prickles of Donghun’s uncomfortable mood laying thick in his mind. And then guilt. Junhee shifts his gaze just enough to spare a glance at him. 

“I’m sorry.” Donghun murmurs. Licks his lips. Flickers his gaze back to the road. “If I knew how bad Rimrock was I would’ve asked my maker to look into somewhere else. It’s - it’s probably not helping you with, well, you -“

He sighs, moving to pat and squeeze at the other’s thigh.

“It’s fine, really. Plus it’s the most decent location to meet up at after Angelus Oaks. We’re leaving soon anyways since the other’s are landing.” He reassures, forcing himself to smile a toothy little grin. “Then we can go to our home.”

Donghun looks at him during the red light, regards his mood quietly before drifting a hand down to squeeze his momentarily. Then his hand is back on the wheel, gaze forward.

“Home.” Donghun repeats, voice soft. “You’ll get to be in your home.”

“We will.”

“You’ve been patiently waiting for it.” He hums as the light turns green. “You’re finally going to be able to settle.”

Yes.

After all these years - he can settle. Maybe he has been aching for a sense of normality - but he never considered that it was noticeable. His throat suddenly feels just a bit too tight for his own liking. Instead of trying to form a response, he merely settles on returning to gaze out the window, thunder rolling overhead.

The rest of their drive is in silence, but at some point they hold hands during every red light. 

They arrive at the airport after some unexpected traffic, Junhee achingly checking his messages every five minutes hoping to see a sign that the other’s have landed safely. Donghun has to park a fair distance away from the entrance, peeved at how the place is still busy despite it being night.

“It’s good that we don’t need to wear official masks in public places here. Different from when we were in Australia, huh?” Donghun asks in attempt to start a conversation. 

“Yeah.”

Donghun sighs, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning over to run a hand through his hair. He scrunches his face and unbuckles his seatbelt with the intention of getting out and away from the contact. But Donghun is persistent, hand cupping his cheek to turn his head towards him.

“You can stay in the car, if you’re not feeling up to it.” Donghun says. A way out. Being there without necessarily being in the public eye.

“It’s fine.”

“Is there a way I can make you feel better?”

Junhee squints at him, reaching up to grab at his wrist.

“You can let me get out of the car.” He replies cooly, twitching a little when the corner of Donghun’s lips press into a thin line.

Donghun is not a mean creature, no. But he does tire of petulant games quickly. The only reason Yuchan didn’t have the standard newborn temper tantrums was because Donghun wasn’t going to tolerate them, no matter how much he loved Yuchan. 

Junhee may be leader but Donghun is the oldest. Donghun, by all accounts, doles out the scoldings and punishments. The punishments are never cruel, usually nothing more serious than an adult version of a time out. 

And while he’d love to keep up the attitude, he certainly does not want Donghun to be in a bad one either.

“I’m sorry.” He says softly, “Just let me be sour today.” 

Donghun sighs, slowly dragging his hand away. Junhee frowns at that, leaning forward to bump his head against Donghun’s before the other has the chance to fully start moving again.

“I’ll try to be in a better mood, okay?”

“You don’t have to force yourself to feel anything, Junhee.” Donghun says. “Just let me know if I can do anything.”

He nods, nuzzling their foreheads together as some sort of wordless apology. Then he’s pulling back to fiddle with the end of his shirt sleeves. The older looks over at him, eyes gentle and filled with something he can’t pinpoint.

Donghun makes some small comment about how he’ll feel better when he sees the others. There may be some truth to that, he’s always found his moods to be worse when they’re separated for long periods of time. He thinks it’s from the paranoia that anything could happen to any of them.

Junhee scrunches his face at the feeling of his shirt sleeves touching his skin as he climbs out. He didn’t find them to be annoying when he got dressed, but now the fabric feels like it’s rubbing and he hates it. 

He unintentionally slams the door shut, shrinking a bit under Donghun’s gaze as he creeps along to the others side.

“Be gentle with new cars.” Donghun huffs but there’s no anger in it. Maybe because of Junhee’s mood.

“Sorry.” Is all he has to offer.

Donghun is already walking, causing Junhee to lightly jog until he reaches him again. Tentatively he holds his hand out to the other, loops fingers and squeezes. It settles something primal in him.

He’s thankful for Donghun, really. Thankful for his growth as a person, his love, his patience. Everything about him.

So it’s only fair to try and be someone that makes Donghun proud. Though Donghun will always be ready to hand out compliments if he really needs them.

Still.

He’s making a conscious effort to be the best version of himself.

Donghun tugs him a bit closer to him so that he isn’t wandering where a car might hit him. Which is endearing, seeing as Donghun thinks he wouldn’t be able to get up from a car hitting him at a maximum of ten miles an hour. Still.

Most of the airport is outdoors from what he can tell. Donghun ends up making them stop and read a sign to try and figure out where exactly everything is laid out. 

“They said it was a vampire exclusive flight..” Donghun trails off. “That means it probably lands at a different part, right?”

“I dunno.”

Donghun clicks his tongue. 

“We’ll go to the lobby, then.” He snorts. “You can make quips about the architecture, if that’ll cheer you up.”

“I’ve seen at least ten sweaty humans since we got here despite it being half past midnight. An outdoor airport is a design flaw.”

“That’s my man.” Donghun says, looping his hand around his wrist and starting to walk to the double doors.

Junhee looks down at his wrist, smile creeping up on his face. It’s a dumb little thing Donghun has always done - something that descended from his maker and old coven. His hand loops around his wrist, thumb laying over what was once his pulse point. It's a gesture that's been around for a very long time. 

In truth, he doesn’t know much about vampiric history. It’s something that he’s just starting to read up on. 

What he does know is the vague origins of it, which Donghun has happily let him ramble about despite already knowing much of the history.

But somewhere between the seventh and ninth century, vampire communities notably started mixing with humans more. Before then, vampires stuck primarily with their own coven with little interaction with anyone else - especially humans that weren’t feeders. This mixing led to vampires falling in love with humans which, arguably, struck a nerve with some of the die hard traditional covens. A form of rebellion towards the status quo of the time was to, instead of holding hands, hold wrists. 

Vampires back then had fashionably sharpened nails, which would often dig into the skin and leave little scratch like marks above the pulse point. It was a sign of love. Some little belief that they’d protect the pulse of the human they fell in love with. In turn, it was also a sign of claiming. A subtle way to portray that this person was meant to be more than a feeder.

It was archaic, he supposes. Today it doesn’t hold the meanings as heavily. It’s shifted as the years go on, now portraying itself as sign of ‘going steady’ and, above all, a sign of close trust and commitment.

Because they may no longer have a heartbeat or pulse, but that doesn’t make their wrist and pulse point any less delicate.

It’s dumb. It’s a dumb vampire thing. But it makes him giddy all the same.

He snaps out of his thoughts at the clicking sound of an air conditioner as the pass through the lobby doors. His eyes must portray his annoyance at the noise by the way Donghun is chuckling.

“Your thoughts are very loud today.” Donghun comments. “But not staticky this time around, so I’m assuming they’re good thoughts.”

“They’re decent thoughts.” He supplies. “Sappy ones.”

“Disgusting.” A short pause. “I’m happy to see you’re in a better mood, though.”

He knows that he’s happy. He can feel it like a tickle in the back of his mind. It honestly makes his fingers twitch a bit, the feeling running down his spine.

Donghun lets go of his wrist in a slow fashion, dragging his trimmed nails along his skin. Then he’s sauntering up to the main desk, waiting for the man behind the counter to pay attention to him. 

They talk in low voices as Junhee finally approaches, Donghun’s hands holding the edge of the counter.

“- the vampire exclusive flights are in the newly remodeled part of the inside portion of the airport.” The man explains. “You’ll need your identification to get in.”

“Understood.” Donghun nods. “So it’s...”

“If you exit the lobby, take a left. There will be a walkway with two palm trees at the start of the path. Walk down until you see a sign that says ‘specialized lobby’ and that’s where you’ll show your card to get in. Whoever you’re waiting for will exit from one of those three gates.”

“Alright, thank you.” Donghun smiles pleasantly.

Junhee is already moving to leave the lobby by the time that Donghun says his goodbyes. He just wants to get there and wait for the others. Wants to get there and be able to hold one of them in a long hug. But they probably haven’t even landed yet. Either way, he’s walking briskly down the mentioned pathway with Donghun trailing behind him, breezing past the indicator sign until he sees the ‘specialized’ lobby doors, tucked away under an awning. 

Donghun catches up to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders to slow him down.

“Get your identification card out.” Donghun reminds him, retracting his arm and fishing his own wallet out. 

Junhee purses his lips as the other walks on before sighing and sipping his hand into his back pocket to grab his wallet. He expects the worst. Because that’s just easier than having to panic about things.

Yet everything goes smoothly. They’re let in through a hallway by the receptionist, her voice bright as she tells them the list of flights that are expected to land at any time in the next hour and a half. Which does brighten up his mood more. It’s ridiculous how such a small thing can change his mood and yet here they are. 

He waits for Donghun to walk through to the terminal first. He wouldn’t in their house, but they’re out in public and the lady seems to think that Donghun must be the leader of the two. So. He’s just going to let Donghun lead.

In the vampiric world, it’d make the most sense if Donghun was the leader of the coven. He objectively has the most experience. But he passed the role onto Sehyoon shortly before Junhee came into the picture, fearful that he’d put too much emotion into his leadership. So for a decent chunk of time, Sehyoon became the leader.

Which he wasn’t bad at in all regards. He started dating Sehyoon and Donghun in the mid seventies when they were crossing through Auckland. They had been a couple for thirteen years and in the small whirlwind of three years he somehow got swept up into the relationship. The first few months comprised of a lot of talking, a lot of making sure they were all comfortable. Sehyoon had been fantastic then. 

And he had been the leader of their little makeshift crew until he slid the title to Junhee in 1999. He had been..god..forty nine? Which is incredibly young to be leading a coven when Donghun was seventy one and Sehyoon sixty six. He remembers Donghun getting an earful from his maker for that. It was all out of concern, though.

Junhee was young. But there were only three of them and he had stopped being the jaded, spiteful piece of shit that he had been prior to the nineties. 

Even then, he feels like he’s the leader when they need to do official things. Like talking to the council or applying for a home. But behind closed doors, when the weight of the world makes his shoulders ache, he lets Donghun pick up the reigns for a short time.

For the leader of a coven, he is quite bouncy on his heels. It sets him apart from the older generations according to Donghun. The older ones are all prim and proper, straight backs and feet exactly five inches apart. He is all awkward heel bouncing, toes curling in black combat boots that he will pointedly proclaim as casual dress shoes. Old generations slick back their hair into greasy looking hairdos to represent the status of their kind.

He is wild hair that only gets even messier when Donghun ruffles through it before making himself comfortable on a cushioned bench. 

Old generations are statues of themselves, regal in their small mannerisms in public. He refuses to ever look regal, ever look anything deviating from the human simplicity he aims to keep about himself. Even now, if he looks over at Donghun, he can see the differences between them. Their distance isn’t that far, realistically, but they were raised in different ways. Donghun has the air of the older generations.

The older is a beautiful disaster of an older generation trying to quickly catch up to the newer way of things. Argyle socks with Birkenstocks, fitted shirt that he splurged on, hair a soft burgundy purple shade that he probably wouldn’t have been caught dead in twenty years ago. He’s dewy and achingly soft in all the right places, starkly reminding Junhee that he wasn’t that old when he was turned either. Donghun sits straight but his neck tilted as if that makes solving the word puzzle he's working on any easier. As if looking at it from an angle will unlock some hidden code that the normal eye can’t see. 

He hears the exhaled laugh before he registers that it’s coming from himself. 

Donghun glances at him with a raised eyebrow. All he can do is smile back and hope that it gets across.

For the next half hour he’s too anxious to sit down despite Donghun’s few attempts at trying to get him to. First it was needing help with a word puzzle, another was wanting to trace the lines of his palm. But he just couldn’t stay sitting. He needs to be able to pace to feel less restless.

And he’s ready to pace a hole into the floor by the forty five minute mark - 

With little warning, he’s enveloped in a hug and has to process it for a few seconds before returning it. The smell of honey and tangerine are enough to decipher who it is. He peels himself away after a moment, arms remaining linked around his shoulders. A scent that shouldn't really be as appealing as it is. There's only one person that would choose it. 

Byeongkwan.

He’s the only one that insists on using honey scented _everything_. He’s going to promote it until honey stops existing, probably. 

Byeongkwan is all sharp eyes and soft cheeks, intense passion and strong will. He reminds Junhee of summer months spent sitting in a river with the water creeping up his waist, raising the hair on his skin and covering his arms in goosebumps. 

He doesn’t say much as he goes in for a second hug, a tighter one this time. Byeongkwan lets out a small little laugh and nuzzles into the side of his neck, hat knocking loose at the motion. They stay like that for a minute or so, Junhee reveling in the others existence before letting Byeongkwan free himself to go greet Donghun.

Yuchan is still busy with Donghun when Byeongkwan goes to try and wriggle his way onto the elders lap. Which leaves him with Sehyoon walking over.

Sehyoon is - very peculiar. He would not fit into a standard coven. Not that any of them would at this point. But he slings and arm over his shoulders, twisting and turning them around so their backs are to the others as he presses his forehead against Junhee’s temple. 

“Hello, starshine.” He murmurs, voice low and languid.

Sehyoon is peculiar. Everything that a vampire should be but just off kilter enough to make him feel strange. Off. Not in a bad vibe kind of way. He fits into the realm of the ‘uncanny valley’, somehow seeming more ‘cryptic’ than the rest of them. When he was the leader, Junhee felt a vague sort of worry when Sehyoon would get pissy at other covens. Now that he’s not the leader, though, he’s simply become one of the various oddities that Junhee will treasure to his final end of days.

“Hello, babe.” He finally responds, tilting his head until Sehyoon reciprocates by bumping his nose against his cheek. 

They’re the oddball duo when they’re together. They just have a deeper understanding of each other, relating in a way due to unfortunate circumstances. Circumstances the others can’t quite relate to. 

“Have you been okay?”

“Okay as I can be.” He replies gently, letting himself get tugged closer. “I’ve had more good days than bad.” He can feel himself finally breaking into a smile.

Sehyoon nods against him, understanding. But then there’s a pause and a confused click in the back of the others throat.

“Your gums look irritated.” Sehyoon hums as he reaches out to touch Junhee’s lips, pushing at them quizzically. “Have you fed today?”

He hates that Sehyoon is good at picking up the little signs of who has or hasn’t fed. In general, their fangs don’t ‘retract’ or disappear like they do in popular media. They’re stuck with them. The main difference between a vampire that has fed and a vampire that hasn’t is that their gums get irritated when they don’t.

The toxin in their spit is a instinctual response. It’s produced in high doses when they haven’t fed. That’s why a starving vampire is more likely to accidentally turn someone - the high amounts of toxin present are kind of hard to keep in check at a certain point. He had explained it to Yuchan way back before he had even been turned, purely because he was fascinated.

Toxin eventually builds up on their teeth and gums the longer they go without feeding. The build up leads to their gums getting irritated. Feeding triggers the response to stop producing it the toxin in the saliva and brushing their teeth scrubs off any remnants of it that’s left clinging to their fangs. 

Discoloration doesn’t clear up right away, but is does fade within a few hours. If they continue to go without feeding, it will eventually start rotting their gums away. Which is the main incentive as to why feeding every day is recommended. It’s also why they take their dental hygiene so important.

(Byeongkwan’s gums always seem to be at least somewhat perpetually discolored, mainly because he’s always had a high toxin reserve - it kind of runs in his old covens lineage, apparently.) 

So yes, his gums probably look very gross right now. It doesn’t hurt that much, mainly because a pained vampire wouldn’t be willing to bite anything. But he can feel the dull ache from how the sides of his tongue get caught on the jagged edges of his teeth. 

“No.” He sighs out finally, letting out a displeased noise when Sehyoon pinches the corner of his mouth as a scolding maneuver. “I wasn’t hungry.”

“Still.” Sehyoon murmurs. “Your gums wouldn’t look like the color of boysenberry jam.”

He huffs a little breath, suddenly feeling a bit self conscious. The scolding is in that small comment - Sehyoon scolds the same way Donghun loves. Without needing to say much.

“How are you?” He asks instead. Sehyoon seems to be patient enough to let him slide.

“Good. The chairs were uncomfortable and they were charging eight bucks for two ounces of B Positive. Which is stupid. So I’m hungry.” Sehyoon says. The last part feels like a jab to him. It probably is.

Junhee just relishes in the feeling of the other until there’s a third body joining them. Successfully caught in between two people, he wriggles a bit in attempt to escape. But Sehyoon just chuckles brightly as a pair of arms winds their way around him. In a blink of an eye, he’s feeling increasingly fond as he drifts his hand down to place it over the ones wound around him.

“I missed you.” A soft voice greets. “I couldn’t sit still on the flight.”

“He really couldn’t.” Sehyoon supplies. “It was like his fanging months all over again.”

“Can we please not talk about those days -“

“They were cute. They gave Junhee an excuse to buy popsicle molds to freeze blood in.” Sehyoon says. 

Junhee hums. Those days were nice - he’d gotten to make popsicles for the first time in forever. He’s actually still not sure how he never thought of it prior to Yuchan getting his permanent fangs.

Yuchan’s fanging had been particularly painful for a few reasons. But enjoying popsicles had made it easier on him. And if he’s honest, he vastly prefers frozen to drinking. Which makes him feel childish, because he should be okay with drinking the shit at sixty eight, but still..

But maybe they can freeze blood more often once they're settled in their new town, that’d be nice.

He basks in the contact of the other two for a few short minutes before Sehyoon makes a comment about wanting to try the blood stand before going to the hotel. The only one that seems to be on board with the idea is Yuchan until he mentions that he’s willing to pay. Suddenly everyone wants some, including Donghun.

Yeah. He’s forgotten just how endless of a stomach the other has. It’d probably take a lot for him to get anywhere close to blood drunk. Still he squints at him, though, only to receive a shit eating smirk in response. Donghun must be picking up on his improving mood, because he has the audacity to stick his tongue out at him. 

“As long as Sehyoon pays.” He finally says, watching as Yuchan finally beams like the angel he is. There’s not much room for debate when a smile like that is present.

Sehyoon ends up leading them, marching off towards the opposite side of the terminal with a sense of purpose. Junhee finds himself hanging near the back, currently filing through his mood. Sehyoons positivity buzzes in the back of his head like a fly, Donghun’s feeling of comfort laying thick over him. It’s enough for him to decide that his mood is decent instead of bad. Maybe a solid neutral if he were pressed to give a more definite answer.

One thing he notes during their walk over is that Yuchan is limping. Not enough to be extremely worrying, but enough to be noticeable. He casts a glance at Byeongkwan, who blinks back at him as he falls into place with his strides.

“His ankle has been acting up the last few days.” Byeongkwan whispers. “It’s really tender, but he’s trying to tough it out.”

Ah.

Byeongkwan must feel it to some extent, a natural bond is much more developed than what he, Sehyoon and Donghun have going on. He’s read that bonds are supposed to be very in depth. They only have a fraction of what the natural thing must be like. He’s come to not feel (too) jealous of it. 

But it makes him reluctant about ever offering -

He shakes his head. Nope. There will be no thinking about that tonight. Instead he sets his sights on the blood stall they’re heading to, tucked away in the opposite direction of where the parking lot is. Probably so they can transport it their stock without getting questioned.

It’s one of the many places that has developed recently, discovering that vampires could handle flavored blood if the flavor was infused with it early on. It’s a nasty process - he watched a how it’s made video about it and he gagged for the whole half an hour. 

They’re properly at the blood stand at the very corner of the terminal, the same hipster place that is located through communities all over the world. He wasn’t aware that there were so many options on the menu. In a genuine moment, he can’t tell if his stomach is churning because he’s hungry or because he’s feeling sick at the remembrance of the video.

So he settles down at a cool plastic table before letting himself slump forward to bury his face into his arms. Someone sits by him and rubs his back.

“I know you’d be okay if you didn’t feed until tomorrow, but it will be less miserable if you get something in your system.”

“Mm.” He mumbles against his arms, forcing his head up to make a more comfortable pillow. “It’s not that bad. How’d you even know?”

Byeongkwan cocks his head to the side.

“Donghun told me. Plus you just seemed off.” He murmurs, carefully scratching down his back. “What flavor do you want? I’ll get a larger size and we can split it.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Listen.” Byeongkwan’s voice dips. “Tonight is going to be the one night you can get away with only drinking whatever I leave behind. If you skip a night completely, one of us is going to have to make sure you drink _extra_ tomorrow. You can at least make that amount smaller by having something tonight.”

He hates that he’s right. Tilting his head up, he focuses on the menu. There’s a whole list of infused flavors and he just doesn’t find any of them appealing at the moment. 

Byeongkwan is waiting patiently, though. So he scans through the list one more time.

“Passion fruit.” He says.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Byeongkwan nods once before sliding off the bench to go to the counter where Sehyoon was ordering. They converse quietly, Yuchan joining them to read off the menu. Donghun is already at the pick up counter, fingers tapping idly on the smooth material.

Junhee twiddles his thumbs as he waits, Donghun coming to sit across from him a few minutes later.

“Order anything?” Donghun asks as he swirls a thing straw around in his cup.

“No.” Well. That’s kind of a lie. “Me and Byeongkwan are splitting a cup.”

“At least it’s something.” The older muses and takes a sip.

“What flavor?”

“Cherry.”

He scrunches his face. He never liked cherry when he was a human.

“Don’t give me that look.” Donghun says playfully, tease lilting. “I’m not forcing you to drink it.”

“I didn’t say a single word.” He jokes back.

“You were thinking it, I know you were.”

“Oh?”

“Your judgmental side makes the back of my head tingle.” Donghun comments, simply returning to sip at his drink. “Why do you think Sehyoon is fidgeting right now?”

“Because he agrees that cherry is a bad flavor?”

“I -“ Donghun starts. “You know that's not what -“

He simply blows a kiss across the table, which Donghun vehemently acts like he’s crushing it by slamming his palm against the table top.

Teasing Donghun is always a fun part of his night. Mood even better than previous, he actually feels willing to feed. Especially since Byeongkwan seems impartial to passion fruit and is only getting it because he was willing to try it.

And to be fair, he does end up drinking the remainder of it when it comes time to. Byeongkwan gets a little more than half way before he’s absolutely sick of the flavor and slides it over to him. It’s not an awful flavor, but he can’t think about it too much without feeling his stomach roll unpleasantly.

But his jaw aches less after he finishes - not completely disappearing like if he had a full portion but enough to not annoy him. As they’re heading out of the airport after collecting their bags, he nudges Byeongkwan playfully.

“Thanks.” He murmurs. “For sharing. There’s still blood in the hotel room if you’re still hungry.”

Byeongkwan just smiles, all pointy teeth and playful glint in his eyes. He slings his arm over the shorter's shoulders, leading them through the parking lot. He can hear the squabbles of who has to drive - and he purposely keeps himself out of it. He is not a terrible driver, but he also has terrible impulse to speed down stretches of road. With the rain being the way it is, slicking the ground and threatening another downpour, that’d be catastrophic to put him behind the wheel.

Donghun ends up tossing the keys to Yuchan - which he frankly didn’t expect. Maybe coming here months earlier to get proper licenses was a good idea.

The youngest pops the trunk and Junhee helps them load it while Yuchan goes to climb into the front seat.

“Can’t believe your maker got you this as a gift.” He can hear Yuchan comment.

“She’s pretty decent, you’d like her.” Donghun replies and Junhee glances over the backseats to see where he’s sitting. Shotgun. Damn. “So really, we can forgive her for dumping us in a hotel in Rimrock. She's done a lot for us.”

“Hey. Don’t act like my maker didn’t do anything.” Byeongkwan whines beside him as he backs away so Junhee can slam the door. “He’s coming around to this whole coven concept. He even sent us three hundred bucks!”

Junhee snorts.

“It’s true!” Byeongkwan continues. “We gotta give him _some_ credit, seeing as he sent his well wishes too. It’s more than he would’ve given us eighteen years ago.”

True.

“I am happy that he’s recovered well.” Junhee says and - in comparison to all that time ago - he’s genuine about the recovery. He got a hand written apology from the guy. Byeongkwan's maker is going to be need a back brace for the rest of his long lived life, but he’s fine. And more even tempered. “But I’m still not over the fact that he literally tried to get a guy from Russia to court you.”

Yeah. As long as Junhee doesn’t have to meet him face to face any time soon, he’s good. 

“We don’t talk about that. That was a bad week for everyone involved.” Byeongkwan sniffs. 

Junhee won’t continue that conversation, instead glancing over at Sehyoon as he climbs into the backseat. Junhee takes in the awkward arm rubbing, the staticky feeling sending chills down the back of his neck. Forcing himself to tramp down his own discomfort from it - and in that same vein, the residual discomfort from Donghun - he brushes a hand through Sehyoon’s hair as a distraction before buckling his seat belt and slamming the door.

“New car -“ Donghun starts.

“Yes, yes. Sorry.” He says with a minuscule gesture towards Sehyoon. Donghun seems to take the hint and focuses on telling Yuchan all the features the car has.

Sehyoon always gets a little weird when the discussion of makers is brought up. It’s okay. He squeezes his thigh reassuringly, patting it a few times as the car hums to life once Byeongkwan is accounted for on Sehyoon’s other side.

And just like that they’re peeling out of the airport. Sehyoon is resorting to fiddling with Junhee’s fingers, curling and uncurling them, crossing them and tracing the lines of his palm. It’s a thing he’s always done when he’s shown no interest in pursuing a conversation. If it weren’t his hand, it’d be Byeongkwan’s. He could even see Donghun potentially sticking out his arm over the console even if it meant an uncomfortable position.

“I’m assuming it went well in Angelus Oaks?” Yuchan asks after a good fifteen minutes of silence. Which is arguably the most silence he’s dealt with in the complete presence of the coven.

“We’re on the good behavior list.” Junhee hums. “Can’t have any issues for a year and a half and then we can be completely on the registry. We'll have a hearing in two months, they insist on a house visit the tenth month in and then they'll the final verdict within the last month and a half.”

“That’s an awful long time.”

“It is. Normally it’s a year.” Sehyoon mumbles next to him.

“There’s a lot of politics involved when it comes to cases like us.” Junhee supplies. 

“We’re not common?”

“We’re not uncommon, but you mostly find non-bonded covens not trying to get on the registry.” He explains. “You having a bond with Byeongkwan probably saved us from having an even longer waiting period.”

“But you guys are bonded.”

“They don’t know that. It could get us into deep shit if they find out.” Sehyoon says before he can. “And having some murky blood -“

“Sehyoon.” 

“Right, sorry.” Sehyoon clears his throat. “There’s a lot of eggshells we need to be walking on right now.”

“But -“ Yuchan tries to continue, fumbling on his words.

“It’s not the conversation to have right now.” Byeongkwan coaxes gently. “We’ll be thankful that our case got in, and we can be thankful that it’s because of our predominantly good behavior that they even took a deeper look into it. Right?” 

Junhee can see him glancing behind Sehyoon, through the thin gap of his head and the headrest to look at him.

“Right.”

Yuchan takes that as a hint, shutting the conversation down. Sehyoon goes back to playing with his fingers. Byeongkwan brings up topics of their last week in Canada.

And Junhee catches Donghun’s fleeting glance. There’s a hint of unease rolling in the pit of his stomach, but he doesn’t want to reflect on why it might be there. So instead he leans his head against Sehyoon’s shoulder and pretends to sleep. It’s an easy enough thing to fool Yuchan and Byeongkwan since they’re not bonded with him, but he’s pretty sure that at least Sehyoon knows he’s bullshitting. 

He still gathers the sounds of the others talking, a few hushed whispers here and there. If he hyper focuses he can feel when they transition from road to hotel parking lot. 

And he can especially feel when someone’s unbuckling him and picking him up bridal style out of the car. Junhee lets his head lull conveniently to the crook of the carriers neck as they go on ahead. 

They enter the hotel, as evidenced by the hushed greeting by the receptionist. There’s no comment on him being carried, but maybe they’re too scared to bring it up. 

The elevator, the air conditioning and the heater, the strong smell of paint and the beeping as their hotel door unlocks just confirms some things. Donghun must be the one carrying him because he didn’t hear any exchanging of the keycard. 

He’s carried to the bedroom with his shoes still on, but Donghun seems patient enough to remove them for him before tucking a pillow under his head. He tries not to grin like a spoiled little brat, but a tiny smirk still twitches onto his lips.

“I know you’re not actually asleep.” The voice whispers into his ear, barely audible. “But if you brush your teeth really quickly and get back into bed, I won’t mention it to the others.”

There’s a soft kiss to his forehead then. Nothing else is said as the door slowly creaks, signifying a departure. He rolls to his feet quickly with the intention of hurrying to the bathroom. 

Brushing his teeth is a quick affair, eyes shut as he pays particularly close attention to his front teeth. Then he’s rinsing with a handful of water since they don’t have any unflavored mouthwash available. 

Then it's back to bed without caring about putting pajamas on. He’s already committed to not showering today - it’s not like they actively sweat enough to smell bad unless they’re purposely rolling in something foul. Only when he nestles himself back into bed does he let himself fully smile, fingers gripping at the edge of the blanket he drapes over himself as he shuts his eyes.

The quiet peace is shattered soon after the others come up with their luggage. He lays there for a few minutes, suddenly torn. Junhee knows he can totally get away with going to bed right at this moment. As he hears a sharp peel of laughter than a muffled ‘shut up’, he does decide to fling the blanket off of him and crawl out of bed. Sleep would be good, waking up to a new night with the hopes of no nightmares to plague him. Yet he makes his way out of the room, down the short hallway and steps into the living room. There's a joyous 'he lives' from the couch when he steps into the living room and, really, that's all he needs to decide that he'll be staying up for a bit longer.


End file.
